NBA trade season: Breaking down the Southwest Division landscape

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During the holidays, it’s always about leveling up. The 14-year-old needs the PS5 hookup, while the 7-year-old is demanding every possible Sonic the Hedgehog LEGO set.

Parents aren’t any better. The house has to have the best lights on the street, and if those cookies don’t knock off Santa’s socks, what’s even the point?

NBA general managers aren’t any different. As they publicly state their support and endless belief in their rosters, it’s all about plugging holes, getting better and leveling up to a place where you’re the envy of the league.

As such, let’s get into how teams from the Southwest Division should prepare for the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Previous divisions: Atlantic | Central | Southeast | Northwest | Pacific

Dallas Mavericks

Status: Contenders
Approach: Buyers

You can’t make drastic additions to a roster that made the NBA Finals and not be fully committed to win right now.

The Mavs signed Klay Thompson, shipped out two one-way players in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Josh Green, and should now be looking over every possible option to further improve.

Dallas ranks favorably on both sides of the floor, and that’s despite a bit of a down year for superstar Luka Dončić.

That’s all the more reason to go all-in. Should the Slovenian All-Star return to form as the season progresses, Dallas would stand a strong chance at a return trip to the Finals, particularly as the Denver Nuggets are currently looking unstable.

By far the biggest challenge for the Mavericks is how they’ll best match up against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Is the answer more dynamic offense or more switchable defense? Perhaps a teaspoon of both?

Regardless of the recipe, Dallas is all-in, and thus should be expected to be aggressive, even if it’s only about half a million below the first apron.

Likelihood of trade: It’d be disappointing if it wasn’t significant

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Houston Rockets

Status: Competitive
Approach: Buy for the right price

The fact that the Rockets didn’t relinquish a ton of their youth over the course of last summer was an enormous asset to them, as any attempt to accelerate their rebuild would have…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-trade-season-breaking-down-the-southwest-division-landscape-164125730.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-12-27 16:41:00

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